probably wanted where you wanted to end up. there is that frustration with elected officials. one of the parts of the sequester that they try to do just in case something might happen in 2011 when they came to an agreement was keeping fix of certain fixed incomes set. it's possible it may continue there but it will be challenging. .... >> that's all for "washington journal" today and we throw it to the floor of house of washington, d.c., february 27, 2013. i hereby appoint the honorable ileana ros-lehtinen to act as speaker pro tempore on this day. signed, john a. boehner, speaker of the house of

representatives. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the order of the house of january 3, 2013, the chair will now recognize members from lists submitted by the majority and minority leaders for morning hour debate. the chair will alternate recognition between the parties with each party limited to one hour and each member other than the majority and minority leaders and the minority whip limited to five minutes each, but in no event shall debate continue beyond 11:50 a.m. the chair recognizes the gentleman from alabama, mr. brooks, for five minutes. mr. brooks: thank you, madam speaker. secretary of defense leon panetta states sequestration, quote, would be a disaster in terms of the defense department . as far as our budget is concerned, as far as our ability to respond to the threats that are out there, it has a big impact, end quote. over time sequestration's disproportionate cuts to national defense will reduce

our military to the smallest number of uniformed personnel since before world war ii, its smallest number of naval vessels since world war i and the smallest number of aircraft in the history of the united states air force. but national security is not the only sequestration risk. in my home district in north alabama, president obama has ordered that roughly 14,000 highly skilled and irreplaceable department of defense civilian employees suffer 20% fer lows and 20% salary cuts. red stone arsenal's engineers, scientists and other civilian defense staff are critical to national security in a time of international instability. their knowledge and skillsets are unique, virtually irreplaceable and maybe lost to national security forever if these workers are forced to find work elsewhere. the damage i've just described to north alabama's economy is

before president obama starts hammering defense and nasa contractors and many other tennessee valley federal employees who provide worthwhile services to their country. nationwide, the economic impact is absolutely staggering. sequestration risks 1.2 million to two million job losses with the resulting 1% worsening of the nation's unemployment rate. it's unwise to subject america's fragile economy to job losses of this magnitude. for emphasis and despite white house, senate leadership and house leadership efforts to the contrary, i voted against sequestration and the budget control act of 2011 quite frankly because the risk to america was simply unacceptable. unfortunately, my vote was in the minority. in 2012, and despite president obama's veto threats, the house twice passed legislation to fix sequestration.

in response, the senate not only refused to vote on the house's sequestration solutions, the senate irresponsibly refused to propose solutions of its own. hence, despite the senate enjoying more than a year and a half to do its job, senate inaction and delay have given america yet another short-term crisis. so here we are. america faces three major crises, sequestration, a continuing resolution to fund the government and yet another debt ceiling crisis. while i agree with the house leadership's view that since the senate has done nothing to solve this problem, it is appropriate for the senate to act first on sequestration this time. i am troubled the house is scheduled to work only 24 days in march and april combined. conversely, there are 19 work days in which the house is not in session. stated differently, the house will only work 56% of work days and be on recess from washington, 44% of the time.

the american people work on work days. congress should do no less. actions speak louder than words. under the circumstances america faces, a part-time congress is simply unacceptable. as sequestration unfolds, as national security, federal government functions and the american economy slowly but surely deteriorate, the american people will intensify pressure on harry reid's senate to finally do its job. americans are suffering, shall defense is suffering, the suffering of americans is not in recess during this crisis. congress should not be in recess either. we signed up to do a job and that job is not done. the house must provide leadership and prove we are serious about doing the people's business, and washington is where the people's business is done. given the magnitude of the risk and damage done by sequestration to america on a daily basis, i respectfully request that the house remain

in session and do our jobs on each and every work day until sequestration is resolved. the path -- the house has passed numerous sequestration solutions. it is long past time for the senate to wake from its slumber, respond to the clairian call and pass a sequestration solution. mr. speaker, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the chair recognizes the gentleman from new mexico, mr. lujan, for five minutes. mr. lujan: i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized. mr. lujan: thank you, madam speaker. in recent years, we've seen an increase in major weather events, especially in the continental united states, from record-setting superstorms to severe droughts and devastating wildfires. the recent impact of climate change cannot be ignored. in my home state of new mexico, ranchers and farmers are struggling to maintain their livelihoods in the face of drought conditions. well, last year wildfires

threatened communities that is still not fully recovered. a rapidly changing weather affects everyone on the planet. it impacts power and transportation systems and even our health and public safety. in the aftermath of hurricane sandy, one of the worst wildfire seasons in the western united states that we've ever seen, it's time to work together on commonsense solutions that will allow us to use power in a smarter manner, produce clean and abundant renewable energy and reduce emissions through energy efficiency. these are things we should be able to agree on and work together on in a bipartisan manner. it is critical that we move forward with a sense of urgency and take meaningful action that addresses the very real threats of climate change that are already impacting our country. sequestration is devastating america today. madam speaker, we just heard from one of my colleagues. this week we're scheduled to go on recess on friday.

i hope that my colleague that spoke today, mr. speaker, reaches out to speaker boehner and eric cantor to say, let's stop the sequestration from happening. it's quite simple. the fix to this legislation could be put together in one sentence. stop it. i guess even better in two words. madam speaker, we have a sense of urgency across the country when it comes to working on climate change legislation, but as we talk about the impact to each and every one of our districts with what sequestration will bring with job losses, let's stand together and stop this. let's ask our leadership to allow us to vote on a simple couple of words. stop sequestration and let's prevent it from happening. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the chair recognizes the gentleman from california, mr. mcclintock, for five minutes. mr. mcclintock: thank you, madam speaker. the decline and fall of the roman empire offers us a sobering warning of a great nation that became overextended

and war-weary abroad while it became utterly profligate and deck dant at home. its economy in shambles and its treasury bankrupt, the mightyist military power on earth fell prey for backward hordes that had previously existed only on the fringes of civilization. now, three years ago, admiral mike mullen warned our nation that our national debt is our biggest national security threat. that was three years ago when our debt stood at $13.5 trillion. today we owe over $16.5 trillion. in other words, just since he issued this warning, we've added more to our country's debt than we did in our nation's first 200 years of existence. no nation has ever taxed and borrowed and spent its way to

prosperity, but many nations have taxed and borrowed and spent their way to economic ruin and bankruptcy, and history today is screaming this warning at us that bankrupt nations aren't around very long because before you can provide for the common defense you have to be able to pay for it and the ability of our nation to do so is now coming into grave question. just in the first four weeks of this year, congress added more than a third of $1 trillion of new spending to this already-crushing burden. the fiscal cliff deal added $300 billion, and the hurricane sandy bill another $50 billion, more than 90% of which had nothing to do with emergency relief for storm victims. earlier this month, congress simply did away with the debt limit altogether until mid may. two years ago, congress passed the budget control act that authorized the biggest single expansion of debt in our nation's history, but congress

at least also agreed to reduce the projected deficit by $1.2 trillion over the next 10 years, either through the supercommittee or failing that, through automatic budget reductions called the sequester. now, the sequester doesn't actually cut spending in any conventional sense of the word. after a decade in which spending has grown 64% or nearly twice the rate of inflation and population growth, the sequester merely limits the increase next year to about .5%. i proposed that act in part -- i opposed that act in part because it was the minimum deficit reduction necessary to preserve our nation's a. ample a. credit rating. i also -- a.a.a. credit rating. i also objected to across-the-board cuts and to the disproportionate impact it would have on our defense

budget. those warnings fell on deaf ears at the time, but since then, twice the house has tried to correct these shortcomings with legislation to replace the worst of the defense cuts with long-term entitlement reform. and ultimately that's the only way we're going to bring our fiscal crisis and its spiraling debt under control. both measures died in the senate. after the november election, the likelihood of entitlement reform over the next several years is exceedingly remote, which means that however imperfect the sequester may be, it is at this moment in our history the only tool currently available to us to begin to point our nation back towards fiscal solvency and away from the perilous fiscal path that we are now upon. we need to give administrators, especially the military command, the flexibility to set priorities and manage our money accordingly, but the overall sequester reductions must be

maintained. a few months ago the chief of standard & poor's made this point, that although the sequester was insufficient to justify of maintaining our a.a.a. credit rating it was at least the step in the right direction. he said the sequester was an agreement that congress made with itself, and we would view any step back from that agreement very negatively. madam speaker, when the history of our era is written, let it not be said that ours was a generation of locusts that consumed not only the wealth we inherited from our fathers and mothers but also stripped bare the futures of our sons and daughters. let us instead begin a new direction for our nation, stepping back from the fiscal precipice that threatens to destroy our nation from within. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the chair recognizes the gentleman from washington, mr. mcdermott, for five minutes.

mr. mcdermott: i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized. mr. mcdermott: madam speaker, i rise to talk about the health insurance industry and its role in our greatest national achievement, full implementation of the affordable care act. in the last few weeks, insurance companies, companies that reported $12.7 billion in profits, had been running a scare campaign arguing that premiums will increase later in the year. they tell us that when we roll out the 2014 health care coverage plans, they will increase premiums unless we weaken the affordable care key consumer protections. the insurance companies didn't get 100% of what they wanted. they got a lot. they blocked the public option, secured an individual mandate guaranteeing that 30 million americans soon will be

customers. that's one of the most successful lobbying experiments i've ever seen. but now they're just a few months away from full implementation of the affordable care act. the health industry is launching what "the washington post" called an all-out last-ditch effort to shield themselves from the blame for the rate increases that they will impose. unless they are allowed to charge more money, they tell us the whole system will collapse. . this is perplexing. we made every effort to address the concerns of the industry when we developed this landmark legislation. it's also deeply troubling that the industry has gained so much from health reform is now engaging in a misleading p.r. campaign against it. despite unprecedented profits and surplus cash reserves, it is deliberately undermining the law. it already succeeded in shaping

its benefits. so let's take a careful look at the claims. for years companies have offered healthy young adults junk health insurance at cut rate prices. plans with sky-high deductibles and lifetime limits that didn't cover much. for 100 bucks a month you could get a plan that offered practically no useful coverage. meanwhile, older people with escalating health care costs were stuck with crippling bills or locked out of the market all together. across-the-board plans dropped consumers, coverage changed without warning, and people of all ages went without care. the obamacare will finally put a stop to these abuses. with better plans with real benefit costs, more than meager plans, marketed by the industry to young people, the stability and affordability will win out in the long run. there are no more games. instead of avoiding risk, the

industry will have to manage it. obamacare will financially help the large majority of healthy young consumers. in fact, 90% of the currently uninsured adults under 30 will be eligible for subsidized coverage. additionally, increased transparency and competition will force rates to drop further. along with a growing pool of young participants who are cheaper to cover. we did all this in my home state of washington. years ago. i know it can be done. for the first time average americans not insured through a job will get health insurance without having insurance that won't drop you when you are sick. insurance that won't discriminate against women. insurance that won't waste your money on excessive marketing, and will actually cover needed care. these are the crucial consumer protections we fought and got. which is the heavier price? an extra $20 a month for a young

person with a healthy income to have he reliable insurance? or bankrupting an uninsured family? meeting the needs of the nation and preserving the well-being of our population is healthiest for all. so i'm calling on the health insurance industry to be team players. and to be good corporate citizens. they have a lot riding on this rollout, and at least as much as the obama administration and the congress. we need to work together not against each other. we have to make this advance work. we don't need to have scare campaign on television telling people that if obamacare goes in, your premiums are going to go up and it's his fault. they are the ones with the profit. they are the one with the reserves. they are the ones raising the prices. they have to be faced with that, madam speaker, because otherwise the public's going to be

confused. they tried to confuse people all through the establishment of the affordable care act. they didn't succeed. and in fact, when they used it in the campaign, the people said, you know what, we like obama. we like what he did. we want it to happen. so the insurance company had to go back to the trenches and figure out a way to confuse the american people. stop it, insurance industry. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the chair recognizes the gentleman from texas, mr. williams, for five minutes. mr. williams: thank you, madam speaker. president obama's sequester is bad for america. there's no getting around it. good programs are going to be cut. good people are going to be furloughed. and bad leadership from president obama is to be blame. in the last four years almost every important budget deadline has been met with impasse and little has been done to enact a responsible budget. systematic failure to perform

the basic responsibilities of governing has led us to the catastrophic sequestration we see today. president obama came up with this idea for the sequester as a temporary solution to another fiscal crisis in 2011. as we have been saying for months, house republicans are the only ones who have taken action to balance the budget. the last congress the house passed two bills. the sequester replacement and reconciliation act, and the spending reduction act. however in recent remarks at the white house, president obama attempted to blame house republicans who control only one half of 1/3 of the government for the looming cuts. if there is going to be a solution, president obama is going to have to work with his own political party in the senate and negotiate with the house. yet all the president has done so far is call for higher taxes again. he got his higher taxes, $00 billion from higher earners, with no corresponding spending cuts at the end of 2012. it seems he will not stop until

every single american has to hand over more of their hard-earned money to the federal government, which i might add, has a bad track record of spending it. there is no denying that the government spends too much. but these blind cuts are irresponsible and will have a disastrous effect on our military. yesterday the joint chiefs of staff testified at a hearing that our national security will be put at risk if they are forced to make deep reductions in spending for manpower, training, and equipment modernization programs. there is no longer a debate between congress and the white house to gain the upper hand. this is real. this is serious. and this is the time to take action. in fact, i sent a letter to the president this week urging him to act now to prevent the harmful fallout that the sequester will cause. i pray that he reads it. i also ask unanimous consent to submit that letter to the record. the speaker pro tempore: without

objection. mr. williams: friday does mark the sequester deadline, we have until march 27 to do the right thing on behalf of our men and women in uniform, as well as the hundreds of thousands of employees expected to be drastically impacted by the sequester. if the president continues his unwillingness to stop campaigning and starter helping the american people who elected him to lead, then at the very best we need to allow the department of defense and department of veterans affairs to operate under a budget rather than a continuing resolution. this would give them a greater flexibility and put them in the best possible position to absorb these across-the-board cuts. by letting the d.o.d. and v.a. operate under a budget, these agencies can prevent permanent damages from the arbitrary sequester cuts. madam speaker, i represent texas 25th congressional district, which includes a large portion of fort hood. one of the largest military installations in the world. the united states army estimates

$291 million in cuts for fort hood, including nearly 600 civilian jobs, and nearly 30,000 jobs statewide. this is preventable. and quite frankly it's totally unacceptable. we shouldn't have to move a third bill in the house before the senate finally acts. it's time for president obama to drop the politics and campaign speeches and do something. putting our public safety, national security, and economy at risk by letting the sequester pass is reckless and destructive. our troops, our businesses, and our families deserve better. americans expect our president to lead. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from arizona for five minutes. without objection, the gentlelady is recognized. ms. sinema: thank you, madam

speaker. my state, arizona, has made tremendous sacrifices in the struggle to stand strong through our nation's fiscal crisis. today, arizona is last in education funding, last in retail growth, and first in home foreclosures. i'm proud to say, however, arizonans are resilient, we are tough. our state was forged out of rugged frontierism, we are independent and have deep respect for the tradition that is make us arizona. we have never shrunk from a tough fight and we have never been afraid to roll up our sleeves and work hard. right now, we are working hard to climb out of the recession that we all face together. it hasn't been easy, but we are doing it. arizona is sixth in the nation for defense sector jobs. most of those are private sector jobs. employers have come to arizona because of our people and our work ethic. we innovate and compete alongside blooming states like california, texas, and virginia.

employers are hiring thousands of skilled workers from our community. our state is a vital resource to our nation's military readiness. we were able to get there through hard work, innovative thought, and intense collaboration between community and industry partners. in the greater phoenix area, our economy is currently growing steadily at the rate of 3%. but the deep cuts known as the sequester would cut our growth in half. in fact, arizona's potential job losses caused by sequestration rank 13th among all u.s. states. these losses will be felt by families working in arizona's defense secretaryor an military base operations. these are skilled middle class jobs. of the nearly 50,000 jobs that we expect to lose in arizona from the sequester, approximately 35,000 are linked to military readiness and base operations. furloughs will affect 10,000 civilian workers. and arizonan also experience a devastating $62 million pay cut.

i come home each week and i talk about the work that we are doing in congress. most of the time i come home to listen. a few weeks ago i had the opportunity to listen to plant engineers at general dynamics in scottsdale. they showed me the high-tech, and innovative defense products coming right out of our own community. built and programmed by our friends and neighbors. this type of innovation in our own backyard is the future of our state. and that future is in danger. last week a bipartisan group of city elected officials, business leaders, and community advocates gave me a message to bring back the congress. i'm proud of their joint effort and i'm proud of their service to our communities. i consider it a privilege to deliver their message. in our state, we are concerned that congress will turn the clock back on arizona's hard work and progress. we are worried about hardworking families losing their jobs. as the granddaughter of a world war ii veteran and proud sister of a gunner's mate in the u.s.

navy today, i remember every day that it is our moral duty to do right by the men and women in uniform who risked their lives to keep us safe. avoid the see questions tration should not be about partisanship or finger pointing. it's about jobs. it's that simple. i stand with the dean of our state's delegation, senator john mccain, when i say this sequester will be devastating for arizona. it's bad for hardworking americans and it turns a blind eye to my state's proud effort and proven perseverance. i affirm my commitment to working with anybody who is willing to put our differences aside and put the people we serve first. we still have time to stop this. let's roll up our sleeves together and get the work done. thank you, madam speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back. the chair recognizes the gentleman from illinois, mr. quigley, for five minutes. mr. quigley: thank you, madam speaker. madam speaker, i rise today because we have to get our fiscal house in order, but

sequestration is not the way to do it. there is no question we need to address our unsustainable debt and deficit. our debt remains above 73% of g.d.p., up from 36% just six years ago. and our deficit still hovers just below $1 trillion. but the solution must be a big, balanced, and bipartisan deficit reduction plan monitored like plans like cooper-latourette, not the meat ax approach of sequestration. we can't pursue deficit reduction at all costs. the kur shouldn't be worse than the disease. the sequester will undermine our growing but still fragile economic recovery. the nonpartisan congressional budget office predicts sequestration would have economic growth for 2013 -- halve economic growth for 2013. another projects job loss for 2013 alone would hit 2.1 million jobs, mostly from small businesses. we just went through this not

more than two months ago as we remember the fiscal cliff. sadly we seem no wiser for that experience. we continue to bicker rather than plan. we posture rather than negotiate. we delay rather than decide. we go from one crisis to the next, thereby threatening our economy and furthering -- further undermining the public's tenuous faith in its political institution. we lack a comprehensive approach just about every challenge we face, including climate change, energy, transportation, health care, social insurance, defense spending, immigration reform, and guns violence. it is management by paralysis. it's budgeting with a meat cleaver. it's absurd and it has to end. the sequester lops off $1.2 trillion from the federal budget over the next decade, cutting $85 billion just this year. over the last week i have met with dozens of groups for whom the sequester is not some abstract budgeting term. for these organizations and people back in my district,

sequestration will have real damaging effects. i met with the aids foundation of chicago, which explained that under see questionsation in illinois -- see questions racial in illinois, 125 aids inflicted families will lose their housing. another 613 people in illinois won't receive their medication through the aids drug assistance program which will be cut by $3 million. . both groups informed me that 4,000 children in illinois will not receive head start help under sequestration. thanks to sequestration, 4,100 college students in illinois will not receive federal work study assistance. the bigger picture in illinois is devastating. sequestration will cost illinois more than 53,000 jobs and $5.3 billion in state's economic output. nationwide, sequestration threatens our physical safety as well as our economy. 10% of the f.a.a.'s work force

could be furloughed, resulting in reduced air traffic control, longer delays and economic losses for our tourism industries. meat and poultry inspectors at usda could face furlough, potentially shutting meat processing facilities and even affecting restaurants and grocery stores. layoffs at the f.d.a. would mean 2,100 fewer safety inspectors. there will be 25,000 breast and cervical cancer screenings for low-income women, mindless cuts to military and law enforcements that affect our ability to protect our borders and meet the ever-present threat of terrorism both here and abroad. madam speaker, this is unacceptable. somewhere along the way, buried within the 24-hour news cycle and partisan belloing, we lost the art of compromise. but that's what allowed the passage of a civil rights legislation in the 1960's and saved social security in the 1980's. legislators of both parties sat down and talked to each other,

not pass each other. to hammer out their differences and achieve something that made this country better. i have no illusion that everyone in this body agrees with my ideas about reshaping pentagon spending or reforming entitlements to ensure they provide benefits for generations to come, but i do know that making the changes that are best for the long-term interests of this country can't be accomplished overnight. this decision requires our best efforts and planning. as the threat of sequester has painfully revealed a chainsaw is no way to create a budget for the most powerful country on earth. thank you. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the chair recognizes the gentleman from wisconsin, mr. pocan, for five minutes. mr. pocan: i am differentlyly and humbled -- and deeply humbled to represent

wisconsin's second district. they are hardworking dairy farmers and cheese makers that can produce the best milk and cheese you can find. i ran for congress because i wanted to ensure these voices, the voices of south central wisconsin, are heard, respected and represented in washington. and i am committed to serving their needs by working with my colleagues, all of my colleagues, regardless of party affiliation. but i hate to say it, madam speaker, but right now the people of wisconsin's second district are frustrated, and i understand why. when i went home last week, i met with people from all kinds of professions and all walks of life and their concerns could not have been more different than what we talk about right here in washington. what they care about is what all families care about, how can they make a living so they can pay their bills, provide for their loved ones and create opportunities for their children? they don't care about political finger-pointing. they care about how we in congress can support an environment where businesses

can atrack more buyers for their products, hire their workers and increase wages. in other words, how do we grow the economy? what i told them and what i'll repeat here today is that the sequester and its irresponsible, indiscriminant across-the-board spending cuts is the exact opposite of what we need to be doing right now to grow our economy. taken as a whole, these spending cuts represent a harsh austerity policy that i fear could only move our country backwards. we've seen in europe the severe affects austerity has had on fragile economies, working their way back from the recession. our friends across the ocean are at risk of a triple dip recession. unemployment is climbing and these massive spending cuts, countries have seen their debt loads increase. is this the model we want to follow for our country? madam speaker, we must remember that the biggest threat to our long-term economic security is

not the deficit. it's the economy. it's the lack of jobs. it's the more than 12 million people who are unemployed in this country. i own a printing shop in wisconsin, and as a small business owner, i can tell you that it's about the lack of access to capital because of economic uncertainty. it's about a lack of consumer confidence and it's about people needing to get back to work. these are the issues we need to address, not as you traret. and we are not going to create jobs or help spur spending by cutting critical government programs without any thought to the consequences. to people in wisconsin, that's just politics as usual. we need to change the conversation right here in washington. we need to be talking about what people are talking about in beloit and sun prairie. instead of asking how much we can cut, we need to be asking ourselves how we can jump-start the economy. we need to invest in our future and how we can support our local small business owners who

are the back bones of our communities. that's is how we'll fix the economy. we need to support education, infrastructure projects, research and development and new industries such as green energy that will help lead to job growth and bring our unemployment rate down. and by growing the economy, we will fix our fiscal problems. that doesn't mean i don't see a place for responsible restraint. as a former chair of our joint committee on finance in wisconsin, i understand that when you put together a budget tough decisions have to be made. and you can stay up all night agonizing over the smallest details, the tinest program, because these programs make a difference in people's lives. it's a lot of work and it should be because our budget priorities have a direct affect on the middle-class families and on long-term economic growth. but the sequester trades in the tough work and replaces it with massive, indiscriminant, irresponsible spending cuts. it's like taking a meat cleaver to the budget instead of a scalpel and it could cost

750,000 jobs nationwide, including 36,000 jobs right in wisconsin. it could mean 70,000 students across the country and 1,000 in my state would see their head start services eliminated this year and would mean that $900 million less in loan guarantees to small business owners nationwide, including in wisconsin. now, i'm a co-sponsor of a pran put forward by representative van hollen that would avert these disastrous spending cuts and has a balanced approach while responsibly reducing the deficit. i strongly urge my colleagues to come to the table, stop the irresponsible sequester and refocus our efforts. the time has come to stop talking about harmful spending cuts and start talking about getting the people of wisconsin and america back to work. we need less austerity and more prosperity. we don't have time to waste. thank you, madam speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the chair recognizes the gentleman from new york, mr. maloney, for five minutes. mr. maloney: madam speaker,

earlier this week i was home in the hudson valley at the united states military academy at west point talking to the cadets there to better understand these arbitrary cuts to that legendary american institution that will happen if we fail to act. west point has been educating and training our nation's next generation of military since 1802. it'sed a old as the nation itself. each year over 1,000 young men and women all across our country step into the along gray line where two american presidents, 18 astronauts, four medal of honor recipients, seven rhodes scholars and three heisman trophy winners stood before them. they give up the easy life to serve us and our country.

for many of them, their time at the point is just the beginning of a lifetime of selfless service. indeed, scores of west point graduates, recent west point graduates have made the ultimate sacrifice, serving us in iraq and afghanistan. while i was there, i had the opportunity in fact to walk among the graves of the heroes buried there on that beautiful plane high above the hudson river. many are buried by year with the classmates with whom they went to school. tomorrow, general norman schwarzkoph will be laid to rest in this cemetery, and that very hour we will be here facing the choice of whether we ask more from those who serve west point or whether we'll look elsewhere. if we do nothing sequestration will clobber west point. in fact, west point is taking

the biggest cut than any army installation in new york. that will mean our cadets will live and train in outdated facilities that are over 40 years old. it will mean furloughs will happen for 1,300 employees working there. the men and women who feed, instruct, protect our next generation of military leaders, will lose their jobs because we can't do ours. sequestration is a bad idea. it's the last congress reaching out to strangle economic activity. we're two days away from the deadline, and there are people here who actually think it's a good idea to let it happen. now i believe we need to cut spending. i believe we need to bring down our debt and start balancing our deficit, but we have choices. we can end lavish tax breaks to private jet owners before we ask the kids at west point to do with less. we can stop giving tax breaks to companies that ship our jobs overseas before we weaken the long gray line.

we can end massive tax cuts for oil companies before we weaken a great american institution like west point. this congress has a clear choice, and for those colleagues who choose to do nothing, i ask you to head home to your district and explain to the kids who you nominated to west point that these are good ideas, that it's better for them to sacrifice that for private jet owners, for companies that ship our jobs overseas that these are necessary sacrifices. the army's motto is this we'll defend. well, west point is something we should defend. because the cadets there will continue to homblely serve all of us in our country. congress doing nothing is not a choice. it's not good for our cadets. it's not good for our country. let's stop this series of self-inflicted crises and work together to reach a balanced compromise to replace these across-the-board cuts with a

smart balanced approach that had address these fiscal challenges. madam speaker, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the chair recognizes the gentleman from connecticut, mr. courtney, for five minutes. mr. courtney: thank you, madam speaker. madam speaker, just came over the newswire a few minutes ago on friday morning, march 1, there will be a meeting at the white house involving president obama, the leadership of the house, speaker boehner, leadership of the senate, senate majority leader reid to start to begin a process of talking about resolving the issue that we're obviously confronting as a nation a few hours away which is an automatic mechanism put into effect by the budget control act of 2011 to cut discretionary spending across the board. i begin with that point because in fact that really should have been happening months ago. in fact, that was the intent of sequestration which is a mechanism that was created in

1985 by the gramm-rudman-hollings legislation that set up the formula for sequestration that cut defense and nondefense programs. as senator graham, phil gsh as senator gramm, phil gramm said in a speech, it was never the objective of gramm-rudman to trigger sequester. the objective of gramm-rudman was to have the threat of the sequester force compromise and action. it was designed to create so much pain politically that the two sides, which again were in a similar point of gridlock in 1985, would begin the process of negotiation to deal with a structural deficit. if you look at the history of what occurred from 1985 up until the early 2000's, that pressure did actually force congress to face up to the fact that we could not continue to pile up deficits and burden our children and grandchildren with further debt. unfortunately, in this present

congress it's taken a little longer for the message to get through. but nonetheless, the meeting that's scheduled friday morning is hopefully going to begin the process of having the two sides do what their predecessors did in the 1980's and 1990's and begin the process of a balanced plan to eliminate the structural deficit that our nation confronts today. yesterday, president obama was over in newport news, virginia, to talk about shipyard workers to talk about the navy, which is part of our federal government, now has to hit spending cut targets over the next seven months. we're five months in this fiscal year. they have began canceling the fuel of the u.s.s. lincoln, again, one of our 10 aircraft carriers which is critical to force projection in this country, and he was absolutely right to be there. this is a program which if it allows -- if it's canceled or delayed is going to daisy chain its way through our navy's fleet of 287 ships who begin

must be repaired and -- again must be repaired and maintained so it can be available for operations. i represent southeastern connecticut, the home of electric boat shipyards. we have the u.s.s. providence slated to come in for a needed overhaul and repair later this fiscal year. the navy has notified the shipyard that that work is going to be suspended. that's 200,000 man-hours for welders, for ship rights, for machinists, for electricians that again do amazing work with incredible skills to make sure, again, our fleet is capable of meeting the mission requests that are out there. the u.s.s. miami, which was a submarine that was burned in an arsonist fire last year is, again, another repair job which e.b. was going to be helping the ship workers up in maine to make sure that critical vessel was going to be back in the fleet. that project has now been put on ice because of

sequestration. . these are irrational, destructive outcomes for, gen, a bill which was designed to force compromise, not to be a policy. not to be an outcome. when you look at the c.o. of the navy, one of the most outstanding leaders of our country, he canceled the u.s.s. harry truman, a carrier strike force scheduled to go over to the middle east to fly air cover missions for our troops in afghanistan, to keep the straits of who are muzz opened where -- hormuz where 20% of the world's oil supply travels every day. this is a policy or outcome that threatens the military readiness of this country. and secretary panetta at the department of defense, the chairman of the joint chiefs has -- general of the joint chiefs has made that clear. we have to make sure this process which belatedly is starting on friday morning will result in smart, balanced ways to reduce the deficit. i can offer one big idea that will get us to that point.

i sit on the agriculture committee, which is a great bipartisan committee that's been working hard in terms of reforming ag policy in this country. it is time that the direct payment system to farms comes to an end. the good news is republicans and democrats on that committee and republicans and democrats in this chamber agree on that. he we can help farmers deal with the vagaries of weather and unexpected events and risk insurance which is far cheaper to the u.s. taxpayer than direct payments that will save $30 billion over the next five years. that is a huge step forward that we can use as a building block to avoid these horrible outcomes and make sure that senator graham's warning to us is heeded by this chamber. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from arizona, mrs. kirkpatrick, for five minutes. mrs. kirkpatrick: madam speaker, the voters sent us to congress because they want solutions.

but reckless across-the-board cuts are not solutions. we are just two days away from the start of these cuts known as sequestration. two days away from hurting rather than helping the people who elected us. let me share with you some examples. i represent arizona's district one. this is a vast, beautiful, mostly rural district. it's larger than the state of pennsylvania. my district includes one of the natural resources -- greatest natural resources of the world, the grand canyon, and many other national parks. the grand canyon is not only an environmental treasure, it is an economic driver. it brings $700 million to our economy and creates 12,000 jobs annually. if our national parks are forced to cut operating hours, cut

services, or even close facilities, we will be hurting the economy not helping it. thousands of jobs and small businesses are connected to the national parks in my district and across our nation. hurting our national park is not is solution. i'm also concerned about how sequestration will hurt education. thousands of low-income students in arizona would no longer receive aid to help cover the cost of college. work study jobs would be eliminated. and arizona is the largest recipient of impact aid funding in the nation. impact aid compensates local school districts for revenue they lost due to the presence of federally owned and therefore tax exempt property. it's for costs incurred due to

federally connected students. what are those students? these are students who are native american, have a parent in the military or live on federal property. in my district in 2012, for example, the chin lee unified school district received more than $22 million in impact aid. sequestration cuts would deeply affect a district like chin lee. it would hurt their capacity for everything from transportation to staffing, from construction to classroom size. hurting our schools and our students is not a solution. madam speaker, what about our tribal communities? my district has 12 native american tribes. 25% of my district is native american. these are residents of some of our most remote and rural communities. their median household income is

$7,000 a year. these folks often struggle with access to the most basic medical care and resources. if sequestration takes effect, their primary source of health care, the indian health services, will take a major hit. other federal programs such as medicare, medicaid, and veterans benefits are exempt from sequestration cuts. indian health service is not exempt. i.h.s. made cuts by -- may be cut by over $200 million. what does a cut like that mean to tribal communities in my district? it would mean losing hundreds of jobs. it would mean cuts in primary health care. nationwide it's estimated that 3,000 fewer people would be admitted for inpatient care and 800,000 fewer native americans

would be able to receive outpatient visits. 800,000. hurting our tribal communities is not a solution. the consequences of these cuts are not tv sound bites. they are real. and they hurt my district and our nation. it will take both parties working together to find a responsible, thoughtful solution to our budget challenges. it will take both parties working together to put a stop to these reckless cuts of sequestration. so let's work together and let's show the american people that we are a congress that can find solutions. thank you, madam speaker. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back. the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from pennsylvania, ms. schwartz, for five minutes.

ms. schwartz: two days, just two days that are left for congress to work together to avert very deep, across-the-board automatic cuts to our domestic priorities. the obama administration released a state by state report outlining the harmful impact these cuts would have on middle class families, on jobs, and on economic growth. yet republicans continue to reject any balanced approach to deficit reduction. we are presented by house and senate democrats which include spending cuts and additional revenues and economic growth. moving from crisis to crisis does not move us any closer to finding a long-term solution to deficit reduction. instead, these crisis cause uncertainty, inhabit private sector investment, undermine consumer confidence, and slow economic growth. in pennsylvania, thousands of

jobs in both the public and private sector, are at risk of elimination due to the inaction of house republicans. from elementary schoolteachers to scientific researchers. just a few examples. an executive director of the delaware valley association for the education of young children said, the republican inaction would hurt pennsylvania's children as, quote, nearly 2,300 head start children will lose access to preschool almost immediately. holly lang, president of the philadelphia corporation on aging said, quote, these cuts may force the philadelphia corporation on aging to limit vital transportation services for our seniors who depend on shared ride to remain independent in their home. a senior pennsylvania program manager of the national parks conservation association said, quote, every national park in the system would be affected, including treasured places like

gettysburg and independence hall and valley forge. and a local economies that depend on visitors' spending will also suffer. the president, house, and senate democrats have put forth a balanced solution that would replace the across-the-board cuts with a plan that does cut spending but raises revenues and builds economic opportunity for all of us in this nation. republicans have yet to offer a balanced plan or to be willing to engage in the serious discussion of a reasonable bipartisan alternative. and our seniors, our children, our first responders, our teachers, civilian workers in the department of defense, law enforcement officers, public health professionals, qualified medical researchers, research not only at n.i.h. but medical centers across our country. business owners seeking loan guarantees. i could go on and on. the fact is all americans are counting on us to act. it is our responsibility to act.

and we should. i urge my republican colleagues to reject the partisan one-sided approach and be willing to work with us to find the common ground and reach a solution to deficit reduction that takes a balanced approach, that respects our obligation to all americans, particularly our seniors and our children, that strengthens the middle class, that creates certainty for the business community and for our middle class consumers, and creates opportunities to families and businesses across the country. the meeting called this morning by the president is an opportunity to find that solution. and i encourage republicans to take this moment seriously, to be willing to compromise, to avert these cuts, to set up on a path both deficit reduction and economic growth. it is not too late. it is increasingly almost too late, but let's get it done on behalf of the american people and our future. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back. the chair recognizes the gentleman from michigan, for

five minutes. mr. bentivolio: thank you, madam speaker. thank you for letting me speak on this important issue today. last quarter the economy actually shrunk rather than grown. that's unacceptable. something has to change. as i traveled throughout my district in michigan, business leaders tell me the same thing over and over again. it's too hard to start or expand my small business because i can hardly understand how to comply with the latest regulations that have come out of washington. it appears this is no longer a nation of laws but regulations. more than 80,000 pages at last estimation. and they are right. over the last four years the number of business regulations has skyrocketed. and the result has been the worst economic recovery in nearly a century. we have had such weak economic

growth that i'm not even sure we can call it a recovery. the millions of people still out of work sure haven't recovered. as many of you know, i own a small business. i understand what it's like to work hard trying to build a business from the ground up. the small business owners i know back home are not trying to game the system. they are not trying to manipulate the market to gain a competitive advantage. what they are trying to do is build a life for their family. they are trying to put food on the table. send their kids to college. and put a little savings away for the future. they are good, honest, hardworking people who are trying to carve out a small slice of the american dream. these small business owners try to follow the rules, but it's becoming more difficult to do so. this may come as a surprise to bureaucrats here in washington,

but most small businesss -- businesses don't have legal departments. they have their spouse, a family member, or a friend who is trying to get them through all the red tape. knees business men and women are -- these business men and women are too busy creating wealth and jobs to stay up-to-date on the thousands of new regulations being thrown at them from the white house. the work of compliance is not done in a skyscraper downtown, it's done around the kitchen table after a hard day's work. for example, a few weeks ago a liberal writer for slate.com wrote about the difficulties he faced when he tried to start his own small business and how surprised he was at his experience. after describing the problems he had, he concluded, red tape, long lines, inconvenient office hours, and other logistical hassles probably won't stop tomorrow's super genius from launching the next great billion

dollar company, but it's a large and needless deterrent to the formation of humble work-a-day firms that for many people are a path to autonomy and prosperity. he also said, ideology aside, simply putting a little more thought into the process could make things much easier. i agree. that's why i introduced the protect small business jobs act of 2013. . the central planners have set up roadblocks to their success. my bill offers a simple correction. if found to be in violation of a federal regulation, a small business, as defined by the small business administration, is given a six-month grace period to correct the problem before being sanctioned. it allows for an extension of three more months that the business is making a good faith effort to correct the problem,

and if the problem is corrected at the end of the grace period, the fine is waived. this allows small companies to have a chance of becoming compliant without being hit with devastating fines. it levels the playing field and keep thousands, if not millions of american workers in their jobs because over 60% of new work in america is created by small businesses. giving companies a grace period may seem controversial, but i'd like to dispel some concerns i heard since i introduced this bill. what about environmental issues ? contamination will only be covered if the small business can actually clean it up within six months. this gives more incentive to fix the problem because if the choice is between closing up shop due to an oppressive penalty or cleaning up their mess and staying in business, the latter is going to be

chosen. furthermore, this bill gives a grace period for regulations, not law. any breaking of property law will still be prohibited. but if an accident occurs, virtually most violationes that could cause harm to people is covered under an exception in the bill. the bill does not prevent workers for suing for damages if their company fails to keep their work environment safe. this bill really only affects sanctions and issues of prior restraint. won't businesses ignore regulations until told otherwise -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. mr. bentivolio: ok. thank you very much. the speaker pro tempore: the chair recognizes the gentleman from new jersey, mr. payne, for five minutes. without objection, the gentleman is recognized.

mr. payne: madam speaker, i stand here today in absolute disappointment with this body and the total lack of republican leadership. i can't even begin to express the disappointment i have with the g.o.p. leaders who choose to play a game of chicken rather than do something to save two million american jobs. after more than 20 years of watching my father serve the 10th congressional district of new jersey, the district that he loved, i came here to washington to do the same. i came down to get to work, to dig in, to get my hands dirty and to help resolve the pressing issues that will ruin this country if ignored. as we speak, people are terrified, and if they aren't terrified, it's because they stopped listening to the partisan bickering. but make no mistake, these cuts will be unimaginable to people

across the country and people across new jersey's 10th district. so i ask my colleagues, why are we here again? why? we've played this game before, heard this tune, danced this depressing musical number before. it's like i'm bill murray in the movie "groundhog day" where every morning i wake up hoping it's a new day and every morning i wake up to the same maddening song. it's the song of a failed republican leadership doing absolutely nothing, nothing all over again. talk about a do-nothing congress. in the 112th congress passed just 283 bills. and 22% of them were bills to name post offices, courthouses and other projects. so when you break it down, congress really only voted to pass two bills a week. two bills a week.

we can do better than this. but we need to work together. when i speak to my fellow democrat members, there is a frustration. there is a frustration, they're frustrated because we've seen the pain and fear in the people we speak to back home. there's frustration because we're ready to work. that's why i was sent here. that's why i was sent here to do. so let's stop the nonsense and let's get the work. the effects of sequestration are real. maybe people don't understand what the word sequestration means, but when they start to lose vital services that they need to live, it's going to devastate working families, the middle class and the vulnerable in my district. in new jersey alone, more than 40,000 people can lose their jobs. new jersey will lose $17

million in funding for teachers, aid and staff who help disabled children. 1,300 children in new jersey will be cut from head start. 11,000 civilian department of defense employees will be furloughed. season meals on wheels programs will lose nearly half a million in funding in new jersey. possibly the only meal they have for the day. and funds will be slashed for victims of domestic violence, resulting in 700 victims not receiving the care that they need to survive. right now democrats have a plan on the table that will stop sequestration and start reducing the deficit in a balanced way. it's a plan that cuts spending responsibly, closes corporate tax loopholes, protects the most vulnerable and ensures millionaires pay their fair share. and you know what, more than

76% of the american people support a balanced plan. including today we have three days to go and $85 billion in automatic deep spending cuts on the chopping block. it's time for washington to stop playing games, stop pointing fingers and do what's right for the american people. that's what the american people expect and quite frankly that's what they deserve. madam speaker, i request unanimous consent to bring h.r. 699, the stop the sequester job loss now act to the floor. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the order of the house of january 3, 2013, the house in session solely for the purpose of conducting morning hour debate, therefore, the gentleman's request cannot be entertained. mr. payne: thank you, madam speaker. i'm deeply saddened for the american people that we are unable to bring this bill to the floor and stop the loss of

two million american jobs. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the chair recognizes the gentleman from oregon, mr. blumenauer, for five minutes. mr. blumenauer: the sequester drama that we are watching play out this week is exactly why i voted against the new year's day budget package. two months ago all the forces were aligned to force a bigger agreement, but we set our sights too low, it generated too little revenue and most fundamentally there was not a fundamental reform in the way that we do business. we merely put off the fiscal cliff in order to not have one, but we now have not one, not two but three such dramas between now and next summer. friday's the sequestration. march 27, the continuing

resolution runs out, and sometimes this summer the treasury department is going to run out of capacity in order to keep juggling the national debt and we face drama all over again. actually, there's a fourth cliff if you count the so-called dairy cliff which will potentially double milk prices in september. the path forward is to focus on areas of agreement potentially between the right and the left. a great place to start is health care. reform is taking place around the country. in fact, nowhere is it more exciting and promising than what is happening in oregon where we're working in concert at implementation of the health care reform act to squeeze out waste and inefficiency. we are working to reward volume -- value instead of volume. and the federal government has $1.9 billion that we'll be able

to reduce health care inflation at least 2% a year and maintain -- and maintain quality. helping people stay well rather than paying people for disease and illness is a logical way to go. after all, the affordable care act embedded every one of these major reforms that used to be bipartisan that have been implemented by businesses, health care plans in red states and blue states that had been advocated by democratic and republican governors alike. indeed supported by members of the house and senate in both parties. we ought to instead of fighting health care reform, we ought to accelerate it. if we can deliver on the oregon promise, it in and of itself will save more money nationally over the next 10 years than we're arguing about with the sequestration. we also must address the huge budget challenges that are

facing the pentagon. in large measure because neither it nor congress has insisted on change and indeed in some cases has institutionalized bad decision. we haven't scaled back our horribly expensive outmoded, inefficient deterrent program, maintaining perhaps eight, 10 times what we need for actual deterrence today with three massive expensive redoesn'tant delivery systems that are out of sync with today's threats. we haven't used nuclear weapons for the last 68 years. we probably won't use them for the next 68 years and there is no imaginable circumstance when we would use even a fraction of what we have. and the cost for that conservatively is over 2/3 of $1 trillion over the next 10 years. we need to come to grips with the cost of an all-volunteer army. now, our forces are significantly above what we had a decade earlier when we were

supposedly staffed to fight two wars simultaneously. we need to scale that down to refocus it, to supplement reductions in troop levels with beefed up support to the national guard which is far more cost effectively and easier on our troops. we need to reform our bloated fosselized outdated farm bill to spend less, help more farmers and the environment and show that we can rise above politics and habits to have a farm program for this century, not 1949. the majority of farmers and ranchers in the united states get nothing. the majority of the support flows to the top 10% who don't need it at all, and it distorts our international trade

posture. the final looming threat is the dysfunction in fairness and in efficiency of our tax system. it costs us huge sums to administer. it leaks hundreds of billions of dollars in tax avoidance, evasion and mistake. to saying in of misplaced incentives. and it costs over $160 billion a year to administer. now, clearly there's a need for more revenue in a growing and aging population. but fundamentally we need a new broad base of support that will help us pay the transition necessary for our reform system. madam speaker, this is not rocket science. this is within our capacity. we ought to get started on it now. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the chair recognizes the gentleman from new york, mr. me fay, for five minutes -- maffei, for five minutes.

without objection, the gentleman is recognized. mr. maffei: since becoming central new york's new representative, i have met with over 100 business owners and development leaders within my community. i visited the hospitals, universities and met with local leaders and law enforcement. the thing i keep hearing in my district is we need to work together to grow and strengthen our middle class and to create jobs. work together. now more than ever that's what congress and the president needs to do. that's what the american people and my constituents overwhelmingly want. if people do not come to the table and work together by march 1, this friday, more than 70,000 jobs are at risk in my state alone. that's hancock airbase, new york national guard employees, 280 of them are at risk. 280 national guard employees at the 174th attack wing will be furloughed. notwithstanding the fact that this unit is flying missions in

afghanistan as we debate these issues. automatic spending cuts will force the f.a.a. to cut air traffic controllers and potentially eliminate overnight shifts at hancock international airport and other upstate airports. and it will force t.s.a. to cut back on personnel, increasing wait times by an hour or more at most and many airports. this will have a chilling effect on a still fragile economic recovery. 70,000 new york college students will lose tuition assistance, and across the country, 70,000 deserving children had lose head start. . we are told we need to make sure for our national security and our economy that we improve stem education, science and technology. this is doing the opposite. we need to take a balanced approach. trimming where necessary instead of these arbitrary, sweeping cuts that hurt middle class families.

this is not a partisan issue. the republicans on this floor have spoken about how bad these arbitrary cuts are and how damaging they might be. our nation needs to get its fiscal house in order, and we need to do it right away, not on the backs of our middle class and seniors, and not at the expense of jobs. there is a specific plan to do that. it balances revenues and -- it balances cuts with revenue increases. and, madam speaker, i do ask unanimous consent to bring up h.r. 6 9, with this -- 699 with this balanced approach. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the order of the house of january 3, 2013, the house is in session solely for the purpose of conducting morning hour debate. therefore the gentleman's request cannot be entertained. mr. maffei: i do understand that, but i do hope that the leadership of this house considers just doing a vote, a regular up or down vote on this or any plan to avoid these arbitrary cuts.

now, we need to institute better programs and methods to root out waste, fraud, and abuse. and ensure that taxpayer dollars are being used most efficiently. there is no question about that. we also need comprehensive tax reform that finds revenues in ways that don't hurt the middle class like ending the tax loopholes for corporations that ship jobs overseas, and ending the tax breaks for big oil and gas companies. madam speaker, our plan is a balanced approach. more send spending cuts and modest -- more spending cuts and modest revenue increases. now is not the time for partisan politics. with the future of our economy hanging in the balance, we cannot afford inaction. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from california, mrs. mcleod, for one minute. mrs. mcleod: thank you, madam

speaker. i ask unanimous consent to address you for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. the gentlelady is recognized. mrs. mcleod: i ask my colleagues to join together to avert the record cuts brought forth by the sequester scheduled to begin in two days. they will hurt small businesses, military, and our children. in california it is estimated more than 15,000 children will not receive vaccinations for diseases. all because of these automatic trigger cuts. this is unacceptable. in addition, special education services for children with disabilities will see cuts while over 8,200 low-income children in california will not receive critical early education from head start. children deserve better from their members of congress. that is why we need a balanced

approach to he replace sequestration which includes revenues and spending cuts. thereby ensuring the most vulnerable are not burdened. i therefore ask for unanimous consent to bring forth h.r. 699 to provide balanced deficit reduction. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the order of the house of january 3, 2013, the house is in session solely for the purpose of conducting morning hour debate. therefore the gentlelady's request cannot be entertained. mrs. mcleod: thank you, madam speaker. i yield back my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time is expired. pursuant to clause 12-a of rule 1rk the chair declares the house

next to the the statue of rosa parks is being unveiled. house speaker john boehner among the speakers. it's been under way for a few minutes. live coverage here on c-span. [applause] >> ladies and gentlemen, the assistant democratic leader of

the united states house of representatives, the honorable james clyburn. [applause] >> thank you. thank you. mr. president, speaker boehner, leader pelosi, leaders reid and mcconnell, friends and colleagues, ladies and gentlemen, this is a good time and a great place to honor the most honorable woman. this year marks the 150th anniversary of the signing of the emancipation proclamation which jump-started a march to freedom for many who while in servitude built this great edifice. this year is also the 50th anniversary of the march on washington. our quest for human dignity.

rosa parks, the first lady of civil rights, the mother of the movement, the saint of an endless struggle, however one wishes to refer to her, this statue, forever ordains rosa parks as an icon of our nation's struggles to live out its declaration that we are all created equal. one hour ago, i sat across the street witnessing the opening arguments of a case before the united states supreme court. a case that many feel could turn the clock back on much of the progress that has been made and for which we pause today to honor rosa parks. the struggle goes on.

the movement continues. the pursuit is not over. to honor rosa parks in the fullest manner, each of us must do our part to protect that which has been gained, defend the great documents of which those were obtained and we'll continue our pursuit of a more perfect union. [applause] >> ladies and gentlemen, the democratic leader of the united states house of representatives, the honorable nancy pelosi. >> good morning. mr. president, leader reid,

leader mcconnell, mr. speaker, my colleague, mr. clyburn, members of congress, house and senate, distinguished guests, thank you, mr. speaker, for making this day possible. thank you so much. one distinguished guest who's not with us or maybe has come late is john lewis. we were on the steps of the supreme court earlier this morning. mr. clyburn stated, until the start of the program. mr. john lewis is holding forth over that. it is an honor to serve in the congress of the united states with john lewis. and it is a joy to be here to honor rosa parks. when rosa parks was a little baby, her mother sang her the hymn "o freedom, let it ring." she would hear that hymn in

church, too, as she grew up. it became the anthem of her life and the mission of her life. as rosa parks would say years later, i'd like to be remembered as a person who wanted to be free and wanted other people to be free too. rosa parks is being remembered with this statue in the capitol, but this is not the first te her greatness has been recognized. here. she has many connections to congress. she is no stranger to these halls. she was recognized with a congressional gold medal and described with the title, mother of the modern day civil rights movement and with the words inscribed, quiet strength, pride, dignity and courage. that was a great day when we honored her. she had personal connections in the house, as the speaker mentioned, for 18 years, she was an assistant to john

conyers. john conyers. [applause] and they worked together -- they worked together to advance the cause of civil rights and equality. we always ask mr. conyers to tell us stories about rosa parks, tell us stories about rosa parks. one that i think is appropriate at this time is that john -- john conyers first met her when he was just out of school. he traveled south to join the civil rights movement after law school and he met her then. she worked in his first campaign and she would later become his first congressional hire, the first person he hired on his congressional staff. what a beautiful connection. well, pretty soon mr. conyers found out that people were visiting the office to see rosa parks and not the congress. [laughter] in fact, she was invited all over the country to be honored. and how about this, mr. president, one day she went to him and she said she wanted to

thank him for allowing her to be honored all over the country and would be willing to take a pay cut for her time away from the office. because of the leadership of the congressional black caucus and that of leader reid and then speaker hastert, rosa parks was the first woman to lie in state in the rotunda of the capitol of the united states. [applause] how proud her mama would see to see her baby eulogized at her passing by two presidents. former president bill clinton and future president barack obama. i had the privilege of speaking

at her funeral too. but what can you say in the company of that greatness? well, what i said was that legislation had been introduced by jesse jackson jr. and senator john kerry to place a statue of rosa parks in the capitol of the united states. [applause] i got an uproarious reaction to it. what can you say to presidents, past and future, preachers from all over the country, a statue. i promised them that the

legislation would pass and quickly. now, that funeral was november 2, and on december 1, president george w. bush signed it into law. 50 years to the day that rosa parks sat down on the bus in month combomry, alabama, 50 years to the day. so rosa parks can feel right at home in the capitol joining sojourner truth, dr. martin luther king and other american heroes. she inspires all who walk the halls with her quiet strength, her pride, her dignity, her courage. i told you how rosa parks is recognized by congress and friends of congress. now i'd like to share with you comments from one of my invited

guests. the baseball great willie mays, my fellow californian, born in alabama, who saw the same injustices as rosa parks did as he was growing up. he couldn't be here today, but he sent a letter and he said i could share these words about her. he said more than this, and i gave the complete letter to sheila, rosa niece. he said, most times change doesn't happen fast. most times it happens bit by bit, little by little. one person's actions inspiring another. rosa parks simply did what was natural. she was tired so she sat down, and that simple act sparked outrage. and that outrage spread and one person's actions inspired change. he went on to say, we will try to remember to encourage change when it serves justice, and today we will remember with admiration the simple act of a

brave woman. we will remember, we will honor rosa parks. lovely words from a fellow alabamian, all-american icon, willie mays. by dedicating the statue, we honor rosa parks for her bravery, for serving justice and for inspiring change. may this statue long be a tribute to her strength and spirit, her legacy and her leadership. may god bless the memory of rosa. [applause] >> ladies and gentlemen, the republican leader of the united states senate, the honorable mitch mcconnell. [applause] >> mr. speaker -- mr. president, you honor us with your presence. thank you for being here. [applause]

speaker boehner, leader reid, leader pelosi, assistant leader clyburn, members of the parks family, distinguished guests and friends, we gather here today to remember a woman whose legacy has already outlived her time among us. and we honor her not only with our presence but with this permanent reminder of the cause she embodied. with this statue we affirm that the courage and the cause of rosa parks not only earned her a place in the hearts of all americans but a permanent place among the other figures in this hall of national memory. rosa parks may not have led us to victory against the british. she didn't give a single speech

in the senate or the house or blast off into space or point the way west in the western wilderness. yet with quiet courage and unshakeable resolve, she did something no less important than on a cold alabama evening in 1955. she helped unite the spirit of america which the founders so perfectly and courageously expressed in the opening words of the declaration of independence. with the form of government they so brilliantly outlined in our constitution. for some rosa parks served as an inspiration to stand up against injustice. for others she was a spur to reflection and self-examination and the reconciliation of

cherished ideals of freedom, democracy and constitutional rights with the reality of life as others lived it. as president bush put it upon signing the bill that authorized this statue, she set in motion a national movement for equality and freedom which is of course why we're here today. rosa parks is often portrayed as a quiet, unassuming figure. she lives in america's collective memory in a pair of rimless glasses, hair pulled back, neatly dressed in a mple h and dress or staring stoically ahead in that famous photo as prisoner 7053. but we should not let that overshadow her tenacity. this was a woman who paid her

own way through school by cleaning classrooms when she was just a child, a woman who was so determined to exercise r that she took the segregationist era literacy exam. a test that was designed to keep so many african-americans before her from registering to vote. not once or twice but three times until she passed it. so today as americans we're united in reimagining rosa louise parks clutching her purse in those tense moments as montgomery city bus number 2857 rolled down cleveland avenue. and we are reminded of the power of simple acts of courage . on an otherwise ordinary evening in montgomery, she did

the extraordinary by simply staying put. and in the process she helped all of us discover something about ourselves. and about the great regenerative capacity of america. we have had the humility as a nation to recognize past mistakes, and we've had the strength to confront those mistakes. but it's required people like rosa parks to get there. because of the changes she help set in motion, entire generations of americans have been able to grow up in a nation where segregated buses only exist in museums, where children are otherwise free to fulfill their god-given potential and where this simple carpenter's daughter from tuss key gee is honored -- tuskeegee

is honored. what a story. what a legacy. what a country. thank you. [applause] >> ladies and gentlemen, the majority leader of the united states senate, the honorable harry reid. [applause] >> 100 years after rosa parks was born and more than a half century after she sparked the civil rights movement, the united states is still striving to ensure every american is not only created equal by god but treated equally in the world. as america shapes its future, it struggles with its past, a past in which equality was our principle but not always our practice.

two of the best motion pictures this year were nominated for academy awards. "lincoln" and "dejango unchained" offered sin matic treatments of one of our darkest institutions, slavery. one film presents an unvarnished view of the evils of slavery. the other depicts our difficult journey to end slavery. it's significant that 150 years after president abraham lincoln signed the emancipation proclamation we're still considering in film, in photo and art and activism how to end racism and inequality. in the doorway to my capitol office, i have a photograph of the president in the oval office. let me tell you why it's there. i get up as i always do to read the newspaper and i saw a picture in the "washington

post." it appeared all over the country. we have these wonderful military officers who serve as honor guard in the white house that are dressed in these fancy uniforms. traditionally what happens, the president invites them in the oval office. the officer and his family. this officer was invited with his wife and two children. he as an african-american, his children and wife. the picture was not a posed picture. the photographer didn't have time to take the picture, but this little boy, jacob, said to the president in real low voices and of some little boy, said to the president of the united states -- the president couldn't hear. what did you say, buddy? the little boy said, can i feel your hair? [laughter]

i'm sure this little boy had been teased at school because of his hair. so the president leaned over and that's the picture. this angellic child is feeling his hair. and when he finished feeling his hair, he looked up at the president of the united states and said, it's just like mine. [applause] i show that picture to everyone coming into my office. and this signed picture that the president gave me to me causes me to shed a tear. to me and to us i'm sure it's a potent reminder, although our journey is not over, we've come far to writing injustice and live up to its founding principles, but without the determination, sacrifice of rosa parks, this presidency,

this photograph, so much of the progress we've made to perfect our union would not have been possible. so today our nation pays enduring tribute to the woman who moved the world when she refused to move her seat. [applause] >> ladies and gentlemen, the speaker of the united states house of representatives, the honorable john boehner. [applause] >> i want to again thank all of you for joining us in this wonderful ceremony today. in many ways this statue speaks for itself, which is a blessing because no words can do justice to rosa parks. home in the -- here is she casts an unlikely silhouette,

unassuming in a lineup of proud stares, challenging all of us once more to look up and to draw strength from stillness. as a child, rosa parks was shy, reserved, at least on the outside. on the inside she was absolutely absorbing the gospel, listening closely to god who, as she said, was everything to me. through every ordeal, she'd repeat some scripture to herself. from corinthians, we were all made to drink from one spirit. from luke, the prayerable of the persisted widow who praised and praised for an unjust judge until finally he sees the light. so it's no prize when warned she'd be arrested rosa parks

didn't have to look very far for courage. she really didn't have to look anywhere. i felt quite determined -- i felt determination -- i should say -- come over my body, like a quilt on a winter night. you see, humility isn't compatible with bravery. we put god before ourselves when we make in god we trust not just a motto but a mission, as rosa parks did, and it can be lifted. this statue speaks for itself and today we speak for a nation committed to remembering and more importantly immolating rosa parks. so we place her here in the chamber where many fought to prevent a day like this, and right in the days of jefferson davis, the president of the

confederacy. it brings to mind lady liberty herself. rising amid the titans of finance and presiding over new york harbor, the promise of america clear for all to see. when the ceremony came down and people from all walks and backgrounds and beliefs pass through here, pass one another, some to cast their vote, some on a tour, it will be an ordinary route but one that about half a centy ago would have been clearly improbable. i can think of no perfect way to capture the vision of a more perfect union than to which ms. parks has already started. it's my honor to accept into the capitol art collection this statue of rosa louise parks of

lady liberty for our times and all time. and with that it's my pleasure to introduce the president of the united states. [applause] >> thank you. thank you very much. mr. speaker, leader reid, leader mcconnell, leader pelosi, assistant leader clyburn, to the friends and family of rosa parks, to the distinguished guests who are gathered here today, this morning we celebrate a seamstress, slight in stature but mighty in courage. she defied the odds and she

defied injustice. she lived a life of activism but also a life of dignity and grace. and in a single moment with the simplest of gestures she helped change america and helped change the world. rosa parks held no elected office. she possessed no fortune, lived her life far from the formal seats of power. and yet today she takes her rightful place among those who shapes this nation's course. i thank all those persons and particular the members of the congressional black caucus, both past and present, for making this person possible. [applause]

a childhood friend once said about ms. parks, nobody ever bossed rosa around and got away with it. that's what an alabama driver learned on december 1, 1955. 12 years earlier he kicked mrs. parks off his bus because she entered through the front door when the back door was too crowded. he grabbed her sleeve and he pushed her off the bus. it made her mad shuff, she would recall, that she avoided riding her bus for a while. and when they met again that winter evening in 1955, rosa parks will not be pushed. when the driver got up from his seat to insist she give up

hers, she would not be pushed. when he threatened to have her arrested she simply replied, we may do that, and he did. a few days later rosa parks challenged her arrest. a little known pastor knew to town and only 26 years old, stood with her. a man named martin luther king jr. so did thousands of montgomery, alabama, commuters. they began a boycott. teachers, laborers, clergy and domestics through rain and cold and sweltering heat, day after day, week after week, month after month, walking miles if they had to, arranging carpools

if they could, not thinking about the blisters on their feet, the wearyness after a full day of work, walking for respect, walking for freedom, driven by a solemn determination to affirm their god-given dignity. 385 days after rosa parks refused to give up her seat, the boycott ended. black men and women and children reboarded the buses of montgomery newcalsly desegregated and sat in whatever seat happened to be open. [applause] and with that victory, the entire edifice of segregation,

like the ancient walls of jericho, began slowly to come tumbling down. it's been often remarked had a rosa parks' activism -- remarked that rosa parks' activism didn't begin on that bus. along before she made headlines she stood up for freedom, stood up for equality, fighting for voting rights, rallying against discrimination in the criminal justice system, serving in the local chapter of the naacp. her quiet leadership would continue long after she became an icon of the civil rights movement, working with congressman conyers to find homes for the homeless, preparing disadvantaged youth for a path to success. striving each day to right some wrong, somewhere in this world.

and yet on that single moment on the bus, ms. parks, alone in that seat clutching her purse, staring out a window, waiting to be arrested. that moment tells us something about how change happens or doesn't happen. the choices we make or don't make. for now we see through a glass darkly, scripture says, and it's true. without innesha -- whether in fear or a simple lack of moral

realization, we spend our life in a simple fog, accepting injustice, rationalizing inequity, tolerating the intolerable like the bus driver but also like the passengers on the bus. we see the way things are. children hungry in a land of plenty, entire neighborhoods ravaged by violence, families hobble by job loss or illness and we make excuses for inaction. and we say to ourselves, it's not my responsibility. there's nothing i can do. rosa parks tells us there's

always something we can do. she tells us that we all have responsibilities to ourselves and to one another. she reminds us that this is how change happens. not mainly through the exploits of the famous and the powerful but through the countless acts of often anonymous courage and kindness and fellow feeling and responsibility that continually stubbornly expand our conception of justice, our conception of what is possible. rosa parks' singular act of disobedience launched a movement. the tired feet who walked the dusty roads of montgomery

helped a nation see that to which it had once been blinded. it's because of these men and women had a i stand here today. it's because of them that our children grow up in a land more free and more fair. a land truer to its founding creed. and that is why this statue belongs in this hall, to remind us no matter how humble or lofty our positions, just what it is that leadership requires, just what it is that citizenship requires. rosa parks would have turned 100 years old this month. we do well by placing a statue of her here, but we can do no

greater honor to her memory than to carry forward the power of her principle and encourage more conviction. may god bless the memory of rosa parks and may god bless these united states of america. [applause] >> please be seated. ladies and gentlemen, the united states army corps.

>> ♪ america, america o beautiful for spacious skies for amber waves of grain for purple mountains of majesty above the fruiten plain america, america god shed his grace on thee

on thee and crown thine good with brotherhood from sea to shining sea god shed his grace on thee ♪ [applause] >> ladies and gentlemen, please stand as the chaplain of the united states house of representatives, chaplain conroy, gives the benediction. >> let us pray. we give you thanks for, almighty god, for your gift to our nation of rosa parks, your

good and faithful servant. one of the finest citizens of montgomery, she took a heroic stand by sitting. her prophetic actions, one among so many during an oddly graced time of our american history, changed the course of human history as it is lived on our continent. a central catalyst in the events which came to define the civil rights era, her cause lay deep in the record of so many racial injustices. now this congress, united as once it was, when honoring her with the congressional gold medal, honors the mother of the modern day civil rights

movement with this statue. as we leave this place, may we never forget the incredible bravery and sacrifices of those, like rosa parks, who call us to greatness as american citizens. give us the grace, o god, to remain vigilant in guaranteeing that no person in our great land should ever suffer injustice like so many of our national heroes and heroins once did. amen. >> ladies and gentlemen, please remain at your seats following the departure of the official party. guests are invited to fall into a viewing line to pass the

statue as they leave the hall. addictional instructions will be provided to our guests on the capitol visitor's center on how they will join the viewing line. >> in december of 1955, rosa parks refused to give up her seat on a city bus in segregated montgomery, alabama. she was arrested, touching off a bus boycott that stretched over a year. you will see this later on in our schedule at c-span.org. the house is gaveling in for work, re-authorizing the violence against women act. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2013] rig by, idaho. >> let us pray. almighty god, thank you for this day, grant us your presence. we stand in a room representing power and authority given by your hand. keep us mindful that one day we

shall stand in a greater room and give accounting of the decisions made this day. therefore, i pray with words that have been spoken down through the ages that you, o lord, grant to our leaders peace, concord and stability and administer the government without failure. direct our counsel according to that which is good and well-pleasing in your sight and that they perform the duties of their office faithfully and impartially. bless these individuals today whereby blessing the individual, you have blessed this nation and you be the glory in your most holy name i pray. amen. the speaker pro tempore: the chair has a the chair has examined the journal of the last day's proceedings and announces to the house his approval thereof. pursuant to clause 1 of rule 1 the journal stands approved. for what purpose does the gentleman rise? >> mr. speaker, pursuant to clause 1 of rule 1, i demand a vote on agreeing to the speaker's approval of the

journal. the speaker pro tempore: the question is on agreeing to the speaker's approval of the journal. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. the ayes appear to have it. the journal stands approved. the gentleman from ohio. >> mr. speaker, i demand the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are requested. those favoring a vote by the yeas and nays will please rise. a sufficient number having arisen, the yeas and nays are ordered. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, further proceedings on this question are postponed. the pledge of allegiance will be led by the gentleman from illinois, mr. roskam. mr. roskam: i invite our guests in the gallery to join us and rise. i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the

gentleman from idaho, mr. simpson, is recognized for one minute. mr. simpson: thank you, mr. speaker. it is my pleasure to introduce chaplain ronald derrick for today's invocation. he served as the national chaplain of the mearnl legion, serves as the national chaplain for the american legion. he's a u.s. army veteran and 40-year veteran of the american legion in drigs, idaho, and 22 years in his current home of rigby, idaho. he leads in his duties, have included terms as post commander, vice commander. for the past six years, he's acted as the department of idaho's chaplain. he's a retired printer and mail clerk, former county coroner, e.m.t. and firefighter. recognizing this latter service, the american legion named him idaho's firefighter of the year in 1987. he was ordained to the ministry in 1979 through the solid rock pentacostal church and

continues to serve in various acts of ministry. he and his wife of 40 years, bird, have two sons, a daughter and nine grandchildren. i'd like to welcome the chaplain and thank him for his dedication and outstanding service to god and country. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the chair asks for what purpose does the gentleman from texas seek recognition? without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. johnson: you know, in just two days president obama's devised plan of across-the-board spending cuts, known as sequester, will kick in. i voted for house legislation to replace the president's plan with smarter and more responsible cuts. unfortunately the president and his friends in the senate ignored it. right now america's over $16 trillion in debt. that means every american owes

more than $52,000 each. taxpayers all across this country know that washington has a spending problem, not a revenue problem. enough is enough. now's the time to work together to stop spending money we do not have. we need to give the american people what they want, need and deserve. we must get our fiscal house in order by balancing our budget. it's almost too late. let's act now. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the chair is entertaining 15 requests for one-minute speeches on each side of the aisle. for what purpose does the gentlelady from ohio seek recognition? mrs. beatty: thank you, mr. speaker. people are here from civil rights leaders, educational programs for our children. they're advocates for

entrepreneurs, economic development opportunities in our community. they stand strong with their first ladies and congregation for stopping domestic violence against women, for reducing crime in our neighborhoods. these powerful leaders are bishop ross, reverend troy, reverend lamar, bishop washington, reverend little, the honorable larry price, reverend dale snyder, the honorable herschel craig, and joe king, cousin of martin luther king. they know what the sequester will be to our at-risk communities. i salute them because they will carry on their great work despite the sequestration and the unnecessary challenges that it will impose. sequester is dangerous to our districts and our nation. it will affect the federal government's ability to provide states with the necessary resources to invest in the future leaders and to protect america's strong business environment. hardworking taxpayers deserve

better. let's not put our economy at risk. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from illinois seek recognition? mr. roskam: to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. roskam: mr. speaker, as representative of the sixth district of illinois i am honored to serve over 34,000 veterans. we have a deep commitment as we know to support those who have risked their lives to defend our freedom and help them in their transition back to civilian life. i've been active in a program called helmets to hardhats, and there's a jarring unemployment figure for veterans that we are all sobered by. more than 844,000 veterans currently face unemployment and veterans 18 to 24 face a staggering 31% unemployment rate. there's an opportunity for us to work together and i'm pleased to join the congressional veterans jobs caucus in an effort to bring republicans and democrats together to be like-minded as

we seek to serve those who have served us so well. there's a myriad of obstacles that are in place that need to be remedied and together we can join with the disabled american veterans organization who is with us in washington, d.c., this week to celebrate their success and our obligation to them. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. for what purpose does the gentleman from maryland seek recognition? mr. hoyer: i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized. mr. hoyer: mr. speaker, we are now two days away from failure triggered and ideological driven and budget cuts called sequester. it's an extraordinarily bad policy that 229 republicans voted for on july 19, 2011. these cuts could be incredibly harmful to our national defense, our economy and our national welfare. general martin dempsey, chairman of the joint chiefs said, this will affect the entire country and it will undermine our readiness for the

next several years. hundreds of thousands of civilian defense personnel could be furloughed, and congress should not put our national security or economic recovery at risk. if i were majority leader this would not happen. they should listen to transportation secretary ray lahood, as a former member of congress for 14 years, i urge my former colleagues to address this issue and to work on a long-term balanced solution to our deficit problem. with only two days left, it's time for us to come together to find a solution that can replace these cuts with a sensible balanced alternative, and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the chair would remind members not to traffic the well of the house while another member has the floor. for what purpose does the gentleman from kentucky seek recognition? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend

my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> mr. speaker, today i wish to honor three precious lives lost in the tornado which devastated kentucky one year ago this saturday. beverly bowman was a magnet to children, according to newspaper accounts. friends called her the backbone of the union church. anita smith adored animals. reports said she owned four horses along with goats, dogs and a mule. and brown was a remarkable man, recalls the sheriff. day or night, if you called him he could help you. he would be there. mr. speaker, the people of kentucky have shown amazing faith and determination in rebuilding their lives in their community, and this weekend we will celebrate together how far they have come. mr. barr: and we will join hands and remember. i yield back.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. for what purpose does the gentleman from -- the gentlelady from california seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, i request unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlelady is recognized for one minute. >> thank you, mr. speaker. this friday, the u.s. budget faces a round of indiscriminant and severe cuts that will hurt the middle class, compromise national security and set back our very fragile economic recovery. ms. brownley: i call on all of our colleagues to take immediate action to avert the sequester, to prevent $1.5 trillion in reckless, unnecessary across-the-board cuts. if we fail, my families and businesses in ventura county will pay the price.

naval base ventura county in my district could be forced to furlough 80% of its civilian workers. our seniors and our children could be severely impacted through cuts to medicare, head start programs and teachers' jobs. we need to stop these arbitrary and reckless cuts now and pass a balanced approach with h.r. 699. mr. speaker, i now ask for unanimous consent to bring h.r. 699 to the floor, and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: under the guidelines consistently issued by successive speakers, as recorded on page 752 of the house rules manual, the chair is constrained not to entertain the gentlelady's request unless it has been cleared by the bipartisan floor and committee leaderships. for what purpose does the gentleman from kansas seek recognition? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one

minute and to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> mr. speaker, we're now some 11 weeks out from the tragedy that occurred in newtown, connecticut, and while all the talk today is about the sequester, we still have politicians and pundits all across the country that are reporting to take away guns from ordinary citizens. unfortunately, and this sumbling for many in politics, no law or set of laws can possibly address in a meaningful way all of the challenges that we face today with a violent america. mr. pompeo: in fact, we face a culture that degrades and cheapens life. that's why i continue to be disappointed to hear the president propose further gun control. it's not an attempt to solve the problem as it is an attempt to fulfill rules for gun control advocates. a time for real national dialogue on the root cause of this violence is being missed.

i heard from hundreds of kansans on gun control and the vast majority of them that washington is restricting their second amendment rights and will not improve the safety of their families or in their schools or for their children. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, request unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> mr. speaker, i rise today in strong opposition to sequestration. the word sequester derives from the latin word sequi, it meant to follow. and then it moved into the word sequester grew to mean to seize, to confiscate. in spanish the word sequestro means to kidnap, to hostage, to ransom and really that's what

the majority party is doing here today. mr. vargas: they're holding the people hostage. house republicans don't care about the harm it will cause to our working families, our seniors, our military, especially our military. we have heard now from our military leaders that military preparedness will suffer and will suffer greatly. we've already heard that an aircraft carrier has been stalled in port and not able to deploy to the middle east. but there is a solution. democrats, through the efforts of the gentleman from maryland, mr. van hollen, has plans that will stop these unwarranted cuts. i ask unanimous consent to bring up h.r. 699, a balanced bill to replace the sequester, with spending cuts and revenues. mr. speaker, i yield back the balance of my time. . the speaker pro tempore: that request cannot be obtained without the appropriate

clearance. for what purpose does the gentleman from ohio seek recognition? >> ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> today marks the one-year anniversary of horrific day. marks the worst day of the lives for too many mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, friends and family. one year ago today, a shooter opened fire in a high school fat alley shooting three students and injuring three others. these three children were taken from this earth all too soon. they were loved by their families, embraced by their communities and had their whole lives ahead of them. as a county prosecutor, i saw firsthand the grief and devastation that no parent should ever have to experience. nothing will come close to replacing the love and happiness these children brought to their friends and families. our community may never be whole again, but we must take every moment to honor these victims

and pray for their families. i would like to take a moment of silence for the victims. may god bless them and god bless their families. mr. speaker, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentlelady from new york seek recognition? >> request unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. the gentlelady is recognized for one minute. >> mr. speaker, i rise today to urge my colleagues to pass the bipartisan senate-passed violence against women reauthorization act. ms. meng: one of my first experiences was working with victims of domestic violence who are struggling and in desperate need of help. so they wouldn't be forced to live under the same roof as their abusers as seen firsthand

the long-term human devastation this kind of violence can cause and we cannot continue to ignore its toll on women and families. they have trained over 5,000 law enforcement and judicial officers on the realities of domestic and sexual violence hoping to protect survivors. vawa saves money and saves lives. laws have been passed to combat domestic violence and violence has decreased by 60%. despite the successes, there is much work to be done and all victims of domestic violence and those in the lgbt community and they must feel safe seeking help from our criminal justice system. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition? >> address the house for one minute and revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. >> thank you, mr. speaker. when the americans who volunteer

to fight our wars come home, they shouldn't have to fight for jobs. unemployment is one of the biggest problems couldn'tly facing america's veterans. our veterans need jobs. but more than 250,000 servicemen and women expected to return to civilian life each year over the next five years, veterans' employment issues will only grow more challenging. that's why for more than a year the veterans' jobs caucus has worked to end the veterans' unemployment crisis and i'm proud to join more than 70 of my colleagues from both sides of the aisle in this important mission to raise awareness and increase employment among our nation's veterans. today and every day, we are asking our colleagues small and large to make a personal and public commitment to hiring veterans by displaying this sign, i hire veterans. this should be displayed in our

woippeds and our greatest duty to uphold our commitment to veterans and we invite members of the public, especially business owners, to join us in this important mission. mr. speaker, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition? >> permission to address the house for one minute and revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> thank you, mr. speaker. i would like to thank the sthat for working in a bipartisan manner to pass the violence against women reauthorization act. the house republican version of the bill fails to protect all women, including native american women, immigrant women and the l gbt community and i rise in strong opposition to the republican version against the violence against women reauthorize act. i have seen the beaten and bruised bodies of women victims and invisible scars left on the

victim, her family and community. native american women in my district and across the country endure an epidemic of domestic violence and in most cases, the abusers are not members of the tribe. tribes must have the right to protect their daughters, sisters and mothers from violence. we must work to make sure that all women are protected from domestic violence. i urge my colleagues to join me in opposition to the house republican version of this legislation and i look forward to the passage of the bipartisan senate version of this legislation. thank you very much. i yield back the remaining time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from georgia seek recognition? >> ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and revise and stepped. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. the gentleman is recognized for one minute. broun broun i supported more

than 155 billion worth of real spending cuts. the democrats are interested in finding a more targeted approach to avoiding the sequester. i'm more than happy to offer my suggestion. we only have to cut 2. cents out of every dollar we spend in 2013 to dodge the effects of the sequester. if we can't shrink spending by 2%, what does that say about the size of washington? frankly i don't think this administration wants to cut spending at all. the president is only interested in raising taxes. but this year, he's already leveraged $150 billion worth of new taxes on the american people. i wholeheartedly support making meaningful cuts, but there is a better way to go about doing it than the sequester. congress needs to sit down and go through the budget line by line and to figure out what

wasteful programs that we can get rid of in the middle of this debt crisis. i hope the democrats will work with republicans to find a smatter way to cut spending while we also protect american jobs and our national security. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition? >> permission to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> i rise today to honor a constituent george oratoni. mr. schiff: he was part of the greatest generation and served as part of the military intelligence service during world war ii. his service came during a time when japanese americans were intered in camps scattered in the western united states. he chose to serve and defend america with no guarantee that his own freedom would be defended in return. i was proud to work to ensure that members like george and all the veterans received the credit

and thanks they were due through the congressional gold medal. when he returned home, he started to run several businesses and dedicated himself to japanese-american education and cultural causes including the go for broke veterans organization. he had a profound impact on our country and his community and he will be terribly missed. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentleman from texas seek recognition? >> ask unanimous consent to address the house. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. poe: the sequester was a bad idea. i voted no. it actually came from the other end of pennsylvania avenue, however. the house has voted twice to replace the president's sequester with other spending cuts. however, the senate ignored the house bills and did what it does best, nothing. now in the 11th hour, the president has disowned his sequester and launched the

taxpayer-funded blame. he has dispatched his cabinet on fear. the white house's scare falling crowds say flights will be delayed and custody will be free. this is a madison avenue campaign to instill fear in america. the president holds the power to determine what bills will be paid, not congress. but he does not have the will to prioritize spending or manage the people's money. he only knows how to tax more, spend more and continue the tour du blame and that's the way it is. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from new york seek recognition? >> permission to address the house. mr. higgins: the question sequester will be felt hard in my district. according to the department of homeland security, sequestration occurs, custom and border protection will be forced to

eliminate 2,700 officers and 5,000 border patrol agents. in addition to the job losses this could mean delays as long as four hours at our border crossings. 1.5 billion in goods and u.s. individuals cross the border each and every day. western new york businesses depend on predictable access to and from southern ontario. increased wait time will discourage consumers from visiting western new york and that is business we captain afford to lose. i call on the house to repeal the sequester and prevent this unnecessary injury to our economy. and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentlelady from north carolina seek recognition? ms. foxx: ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. ms. foxx: the president is hitting the road this week for another tax increase on hard-working americans. he already raised taxes just eight weeks ago.

why the sudden urge to do it again? the president says, this is the plan to replace his sequester that's scheduled to hit march 1. but the president and the rest of the democrats who run washington apparently haven't figured out that we cannot tax our way out of this mess. tax revenues are set to double over the next decade and top tax rates have hit their highest level since 1986. we are already taxing wages and salaries at rates as high as 44%. we need to replace the president's sequester with commonsense spending cuts and reforms, not more taxes. the house has acted twice to achieve this, and now the president needs to put forward a serious plan. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back. for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition? >> permission to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> mr. speaker, i rise today to honor the legacy of george orato

nmp i, a business executive who was a champion for japanese americans. he was born and raised in california along with 122,000 other japanese americans was forced into internment camps during world war inch i. he used his skills to serve his country in the army military intelligence service. following the war, he started two successful businesses and enjoyed a wonderful life with his family. though he achieved great commercial success, he will always be remembered for his outstanding citizenship. he and his wife established the first endo youed chair in the country to study the injustice of the japanese-american intern meant. in addition, they gave millions in support of japanese american

national museum, ucla department of asian and east asian centers. and countless asian american candidates. i look to him as an inspiration as he truly lived the american dream. thank you, mr. speaker. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentlelady from saffle seek recognition? >> permission to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. ms. sanchez: mr. speaker, i rise today in the memory of mr. michael anthony sol inch s, who was an educator and taught at anaheim high school in my district. he was a champion for lower-income students. he grew up in riverside, california, and his family grew up under poor circumstances. but education was always important to them. he enrolled in riverside community college where teachers encouraged him to be an

educator. as a student teacher, michael became involved with the avid program, a program that copes and close that achievement gap from lower-income students to the norm. mr. sol inch s taught avid in southern california schools and director for our county education program. he moss recently served as our assistant principal at anaheim high school. he was impassioned about education and he knew this would make a difference in so many people's lives and even though he lost a battle with cancer, he will be remembered by all who knew him. and his legacy will move forward in all of those students whose life he has impacted. thank you, mr. speaker, and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from new jersey seek recognition?

without objection. . . mr. sires: mr. speaker, unless congress acts this week drastic spending cuts, known as sequester, will take effect. it affects hundreds of thousands of middle-class americans as well as vital services for children, seniors and our troops. congress must not wait any longer to come to an agreement. should sequestration take effect, new jersey will lose almost $4 million in funding for primary and secondary education, putting around 160 teacher's jobs at risk. they will lose $17 million in funding or 210 teachers who help children with disabilities. in addition, head start, early head start services will eliminate -- lr eliminated for an estimated 1,300 children in new jersey. new jersey, will lose funding cuts for public safety grants provided to local law enforcement officials designed

to improve the safety of our community as well as reduction in funding to provide meals for new jersey seniors. madam speaker, these are just a small portion of the impact sequestration will have on new jersey and america as a whole. mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to bring up h.r. 699, a balanced bill to replace the sequester with spending cuts and revenues. the speaker pro tempore: as the chair has previously advised, that request cannot be entertained absent appropriate clearance. for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> thank you, mr. speaker. i rise today to express my grave concerns over the republican substitute to the senate-passed violence against women act. the senate passed this bill with overwhelming bipartisan support, including a majority of senate republicans. but apparently leadership in the house has decided that this law should protect only some women. the substitute that we're being asked to vote on excludes lgbt

victims. it weakens protections for women on college campuses, native american women and immigrants. as a father of a young daughter and a husband, i cannot begin to understand why we would gut commonsense protections for women or why we would pick and choose the type of women that we want to protect from violence. a few minutes ago we swore allegiance to this flag, and to a republic that stands for liberty and justice for all, not for some. in fact, americans have long fought for equality for women and protecting all women from women. mr. huffman: the violence against women act has been an important part of our history. it's not something that should be politicized or used for political games. let's vote against this substitute. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute.

>> thank you, mr. speaker. in our san joaquin valley in california, unfortunately we are facing yet another fight for every drop of water that's critical to our economic recovery. mr. costa for for the last two months we lost over 700,000 acre-feet of water because of an unlawful biological opinion that puts a two-inch fish before 220 million californians. to add insult to injury, our valley was depelt yet another blow when the bureau of reclamation gave us a 25% water allocation. that is simply unacceptable. it remains to be seen that the obama administration and their nominee to replace secretary salazar has forgotten or ignored the tough lessons from the failures of 2009 and 2010. immediate action is necessary to keep a bad situation from becoming devastating to our

valley this year and throughout the state. the bay delta conservation plan must move forward to resolve this situation in the future. every day wasted is valuable time and water lost. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> thank you, mr. speaker. i stand here today to urge my colleagues to bring the senate version of the violence against women act, our vawa, a bill that would provide critical services to all victims of domestic abuse to the house floor. mr. bera: my friends, my colleagues, my constituents, it's time to re-authorize. i want to applaud all the senate democrats, all the female senators and the vast majority of republican senate members who believe that vaw with a is good for the -- vawa

is good for women regardless of their ethnicity or tribal heritage. as for the altered house version, it is unfair, unjust and unacceptable. mr. lone thall: i have a few -- mr. lowenthal: i have a few questions for the people. why do our lgbt, native american and immigrant brothers and sisters not deserve the same protections? why are there exceptions in your eyes and why must they continually be denied the same freedoms and liberties that we all enjoy under our constitution? by re-authorizing the senate version of vawa, we can make sure that our lgbt brothers and sisters receive appropriate care when they are victimized. we can make sure that immigrants who -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. mr. lowenthal: thank you and i

yield my time. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from maryland seek recognition? without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> mr. speaker, i rise in strong opposition to the sequester which was designed to be so severe and so catastrophic that we will be compelled to make the necessary compromises to avoid it and yet we've done nothing. mr. ruppersberger: we're neighbors to the social security administration, the national institutes for health and b.w.i. airport. nearly 140,000 workers at these facilities will be furloughed. we are going to lose about $14.4 million in funding education, putting the jobs of 200 teachers at risk. we'll lose money for research which support thousands of jobs in maryland. maryland cannot afford this deficit reduction and neither can the other states in this nation. we have to put forward serious alternatives to avoid sequester and i wish the majority will

propose one for themselves. we are in this ridiculous situation and we must resolve this problem now. i ask -- mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to bring up h.r. 699, a balanced bill to replace the sequester through spending cuts and revenues. the speaker pro tempore: as the chair has previously advised, that request cannot be entertained without appropriate clearance. for what purpose does the gentleman from florida seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, -- mr. nugent: mr. speaker, by the direction of the committee on rules, i call up house resolution 83 and ask for its immediate consideration. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the resolution. the clerk: house calendar number 5, house resolution 83. resolved, that upon the adoption of this resolution it shall be in order to consider in the house the bill senate 47, to re-authorize the violence against women act of 1994. all points of order against consideration of the bill are waived. the bill shall be considered as read. all points of order against provisions in the bill are waived. the previous question shall be considered as ordered on the

bill and on any amendment thereto to final passage without intervening motion except, one, one hour of debate equally divided and controlled by the majority leader and the minority leader or their respective designees, two, an amendment in the nature of a substitute consisting of the text of rules committee print 113-2, if offered by the majority leader or his designee, which shall be in order without intervention of any point of order, shall be considered as read, and shall be separately debatable for 20 minutes equally divided and controlled by the proponent and an opponent, and three, one motion to commit with or without instructions. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from florida is recognized for one hour. mr. nugent: mr. speaker, four purposes of debate only, i yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentlewoman from new york, ms. slaughter. pending which time i yield myself such time as i may consume. during consideration of this resolution, all time yielded is for purposes of debate only.

mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks . the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. nugent: mr. speaker, house resolution 83 provides for a structured rule for consideration of senate 47, the violence against women re-authorization act of 2013. the rule also provides for consideration of one substitute amendment to this underlying legislation. this process ensures there's ample discussion on both opinions presented to the house to give members, both the minority and the majority, the opportunity to participate in these debates. resolution 83, i support the rule, and i hope my colleagues will support it as well because supporting and passing this resolution will be able to move onto debating the re-authorization of violence against women act and as a former law enforcement officer who spent 38 years fighting against all types of violence,

i've seen evils and cruelty on domestic violence issues firsthand. that's why i also volunteered with and even served on the board of directors for the dawn center which is a refuge for victims of domestic and sexual violence in hernedo county, florida. with these sorts of experience, i know and understand how important grant programs like these authorized by the violence against women act are to law enforcement agencies, fighting domestic violence, the advocates serving those involved in domestic violence and the victims themselves. violence against women is unacceptable in any terms. it should be unacceptable to everybody in this room, regardless of your gender, regardless of your sexual orientation and regardless of your age. i hope it is that obvious. the rule we have before us today provides the house the ability to consider measures that would help provide

stakeholders with the tools they need to combat this terrible crime. if house resolution 83 passes, then tomorrow the house will debate two separate visions of re-authorizing the violence against women act. we will have one hour of debate on the underlying bill which passed the senate just 15 days ago. we also will spend 20 minutes debating a republican alternative to the senate bill. at the end of the debate, we will vote first on the republican alternative to the senate bill, and if that house amendment fails, then we will have an up or down vote on final passage of the senate re-authorization. it's that simple. these options offer two separate and distinct visions on how the federal government can help aid in the fight against domestic violence. i can say that during my time as sheriff, i never saw a single federal domestic

violence case ever prosecuted. but i know the federal dollars went to the states and counties to help combat these types of crimes. i also know that victims of all genders and sexual orientations found shelter and safety in places like the dawn center because grants like those authorized in the violence against women act. i know this is a debate that we need to have. that's why i'm standing here today providing a vigorous discussion on those options and ultimately lets the people's house work its will. i encourage my colleagues to vote yes on the rule, and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentlelady from new york is recognized. ms. slaughter: thank you, mr. speaker. good afternoon. i thank the gentleman for yielding me the customary 30 minutes and i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized. ms. slaughter: thank you, mr. speaker. when i joined my former

colleague, representative pat schroeder of colorado, to write the original violence against women act, it didn't occur to us to exclude or discriminate against anyone. in the multiple times the law has been re-authorized, we as the legislature have always tried to ensure that all victims of domestic violence received the protections under the law. as my colleague pointed out, up to now they have. unfortunately, the latest attempt to re-authorize the violence against women act has been different. this time the majority has tried to pass streamline legislation and rejected the law to strengthen the law. when three republican senators voting in favor, including every republican woman in the senate, they approved the re-authorization that is both comprehensive and inclusive in nature. unfortunately instead of allowing a clean up or down vote on this bipartisan bill,

majority leadership proposed a substitute amendment that removed key provisions from that bill. for example, the leadership's amendment fails to explicitly protect lgbt victims and limits protections for immigrants. at the same time the amendment fails to close the legal loopholes that leave native american victims of domestic violence with nowhere to turn. additionally, despite the high rate of dating violence and sexual assault on college campuses, the amendment entirely misses protections against young women who are victimized in college, and that's why the majority's amendment is opposed by groups, including the national task force to end sexual domestic violence against women, the national congress of american indians and the leadership conference on civil and human rights, among many others. . some of the majority want to weaken a strong bipartisan bill and vital that

we reject their party's amendment. with the votes we are about to take we will be asked to choose between an amendment that protects some victims against some victims. the choice is so clear. we are being asked to choose. and we are looking at those options that are before us and it's clear what we must do. i strongly urge my colleagues to vote no on the substitute amendment tomorrow to the senate bill so the original senate legislation will receive a vote in the house. mr. speaker, i want to take a moment and talk about something of an incredible impact that the violence against women act has had. since that act, instances of domestic violence have fallen by 67% and one million pell have

obtained protective orders. before the passage, police officers were not trained to separate a victim and abuser when they responded to a domestic violence call. thanks to the law, the police officers are trained to do just that and stop violence from resuming the police left and the front door closed. perhaps the greatest victory is that the law finally brought millions of victims out of the shadows and gave them a place to stand. in 1994, domestic violence in our country was not even discussed and the scars were never acknowledged and as a result, the victims often became abusers and the cycle of violence would never end. we are stopping that violence, cycle of violence and we have achieved much of that. for 18 years, this law gave victims a choice and made

incredible strides. every time we have renewed the law, our goal has been the same, to ensure all victims of domestic violence no matter their age or gender are acknowledged, helped and producted by the law. it has been now more than 500 days since the violence against women act has expired. today is the day that ends and we act in the name of justice. i urge my colleagues to vote no on the substitute amendment tomorrow so we can vote yes and get this bill to the president right away. now in addition, i want to mention about the previous question. today we are going to have an opportunity to stop the sequester, which is supposed to take effect in two days. we all know all the harms we know very well what the sequester is going to do to the economy and to the work force in the united states and most

importantly, we know that we cannot afford such a slowdown. now today, we are going to give members of the house the opportunity to vote on a sequester solution. if we defeat the previous question and please pay attention, if you want to go on record against having the sequester go into effect, we are giving you the opportunity to do that. by voting no on the previous question, you will allow the house to vote on a measure that mr. van hollen, ranking member of the budget committee, has come to the rules committee three times to try to achieve the end of saving us from ourselves. mr. van hollen's legislation would reduce the deficit in a balanced and responsible way, but stop the devastating sequestration. today's the last chance of the house of representatives to stop the sequester. despite what some has said, this chamber has not passed

legislation. it is vital that the inaction of the majority come to an end and take this step to stop the sequester today. so all of us, let me urge you to vote no on the previous question if you wish to be on record saying you do not support the sequester, you do not want to see this damage done to the economy and to the united states and incidentally, to our reputation in the country and rest of the world. doing so will allow mr. van hollen's legislation to have a serious debate and vote that it deserves. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady reserves. the gentleman from florida. mr. nugent: i yield two minutes to the gentleman from new york, mr. hanna. mr. hanna: i rise in support of the rule that provides for consideration of s. 47. the violence against women reauthorization act of 2013.

mr. speaker, the violence against women act has been successful. we have seen its benefits. it has saved lives and helped millions of women find safety, security and self-sufficienty. while there are deeply held differences about some policies in the bill we consider today, now is the time to reauthorize the violence against women bill. if a daughter, a sister, a perfect stranger, was raped, battered or needed helped, no one would ask or care what her ethnicity was, national origin, sexual ownertation, before coming to her aid, nor should the violence against women act. no community, no person, should be neglected when it comes to domestic violence. as a father of a young daughter, grace katherine, i don't know or care what her ownertation is.

she and all women and girls should be equally protected under its laws. we have the opportunity now to timely pass a bipartisan, inclusive, violence against women act that service providers, law enforcement and most importantly, all victims, all victims deserve. i urge my colleagues to support this rule and the underlying bill. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from florida reserves his time and the gentlelady from new york. ms. slaughter: i'm pleased to yield 1 1/2 minutes my colleague from new york, distinguished ranking member of the committee on small business, ms. velasquez. ms. velazquez: i thank the gentlelady from new york for yielding. twice in two decades, members of

both parties have crossed party lines to reauthorize the violence against women act. yet, this week, we are considering a partisan bill that excludes some victims based on actional orientaton or immigration status. what if the victim is a lesbian or gay man, what if it is a undocumented worker. here are some facts, 20% of gay men experience domestic abuse as do 50% of lesbian women. for undocumented women, abuse rates are likely higher than the rest of the population. what goes unreported for fear of deportation. those of millions of people and thousands of new yorkers who are being hurt. this legislation adds insult to

their injury by basically saying that because of who your we won't help you. i hope my republican colleagues agree that that is not the message we want to send. vote no on the rule and the underlying bill so we can approve a real violence against women act that protects all victims equally. shame on us. this should not be a partisan issue. thank you, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. the gentlelady from new york reserves. the gentleman from florida. mr. nugent: i yield three minutes to the gentleman from oklahoma, mr. cole. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for three minutes. mr. cole: i thank the gentleman for yielding. mr. speaker, i rise to support the rule and the underlying legislation. this rule brings the senate-passed version of vawa to the floor and allows us to vote on house language to replace that version. i want to particularly thank my good friend, chairman sessions

of the rules committee, for devising a rule for the house to work its rule on this important issue and do so smoothly, fairly and quickly. i want to particularly thank leader cantor for his hard work and effort to truly understand and deal with the problems that native american women face. that part of our population, and many of my colleagues have learned during the course of this debate is in many ways the most at-risk part of our population. one in three native american women will be sexually assaulted in their lifetime and statistics on the failure to prosecute and hold accountable the perpetrators of those crimes are simply stunning. i'm proud that the senate and house have turned their attention to this issue and finally give it the consideration that it merits. and i particularly want to thank leader cantor, the house version has improved tremendously over

what this body passed in the last congress and that is due to his hard work. that being said, i cannot support the house version of vawa. while it's made great strides in recognizing the jurisdiction of private courts, it falls short of giving tribes what they need to keep their citizens protected from the scurge of domestic violence. unlike the senate version, the house version fails to recognize existing tribal sovreignty and enshined in the constitution and has been recognized throughout the history of our country. the house version requires tribes to seek department of justice certification before exercising jurisdiction over non-indian offenders. i cannot think of any example where one sovereign has to seek permission to exercise their rights as a sovereign. it doesn't make sense to ask tribes to willingly abdicate part of their sovreignty to exercise another part of their

sovreignty. it waives sovereign immunity. as sovereigns, tribes should make that decision on whether or not to waive sovereign immunity. in the final analysis, indian tribes and indian women need help, and i don't think there's much debate about this in this body. and they prefer the senate bill to the house bill. that settles the issue for me. i want to thank my colleague, mr. nugent, for yielding time. i support this rule and i urge my colleagues to vote no and i support the underlying bill that has been passed by the senate. with that, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from florida reserves. the gentlelady from new york. ms. slaughter: mr. speaker, i'm pleased to yield 1 1/2 to the gentlewoman from new york. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized. ms. sanchez: i rise in opposition to the amendment made

under this rule to gut the senate-passed violence against women reauthorization act. the senate bill is a bipartisan approach that protects vulnerable populations and the amendment under this rule would remove those protections. furthermore, senate bill 47 includes legislation that i have worked on in the two past congresses with representative virginia foxx of north carolina, who i call my good friend, and senator klobuchar of minnesota. i re-introduced the stalker's act. and it is included. no one can deny that the internet is a great tool for all of us and connects billions of people. but one of the problems is that it has been a proven effective weapon for stalkers to prey on innocent people. current stalker statutes simply have not caught up with the new tools and emerging technologies

that these criminals use. the stalkers act would bring our laws into the 21st century by giving law enforcement the tools that they need to combat stalking in the digital age. the stalkers act would protect victims and empower prosecutors by increasing the scope of existing laws to cover acts of electronic monitoring, including spy ware, bugging, video surveillance and other new technologies as they develop. currently, federal laws cannot be enforced unless stalking victims can demonstrate that they are in reasonable fear of physical injury. again, i thank you for including the stalking act in the underlying bill. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. the gentlelady from new york reserves. the gentleman from florida. mr. nugent: i continue to reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from new york.